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Nicholls recovers from Pye defeat to lift title

Jack Pye of Wymondham was Norfolk’s only starter in the SMPT British Open at York and as expected he was fast out of the blocks to establish his credentials as a real contender for the title. In the group stages he was in sparkling form reeling off five straight wins including a 17-3 beating of Norwegian Gunnar Frantzen, a 25-3 win against Angela Roberts and a 14-9 win against England’s Nigel Nicholls. This took Jack Pye into the knock-out stages where he beat John Pye of Essex 13-8 for his sixth win in a row but disappointment was just around the corner. He was unfortunate to find himself up against SMPT World Ranked number three James Trott of England so early in the competition and slipped to a 15-9 defeat. Nigel Nicholls of Cornwall meanwhile went on to recover from the defeat against Jack Pye to lift the SMPT Verdemat Bowls British Open title. He beat Dom Reed of Essex 9-7 in the final. Third was Tony Ealham of Essex who beat Scotland’s Paul Walker 13-10 in the play-off for the Bronze position. Peter Roberts of England beat Ireland’s Andy Howard 10-8 in the Plate Final while Keith Tinney of Ireland beat Steve Durcan of the Isle of Man 12-7 in the Shield Final. The competition produced a number of big score-lines over the two days of play. Bob Naylor of England beat Abu Baker of United Arab Emirates by 34-0 while Baker also lost by 30-2 against England’s Mike Shaw. Northern Ireland’s Keith Tinney beat England’s Carlie Dawson 30-1, England’s Karen Watson beat Armin Stoll of Canada 27-4 and Ian Ford of England beat Khuram Shahzad of the United Arab Emirates 28-2. Norway’s Tone Boe defeated England’s Pauline White 25-1 while Sweden’s Joel Hager beat Dianne Shorthouse 27-1. Entries are now open for the SMPT English Masters at Falcon Bowling & Social Club in Essex. Wymondham’s Jack Pye & Chris Mann and Neil Davidson of Hempnall are expected to compete in this event.